Reading with a child...

0-24 Months

Themes & Concepts

Emphasis on the development of sight and vision with big text and bright colors

Teaching sensory skills through touch with thick, board pages

Rhyme and rhythm of words in a repetitive style

Simple and easy-to-use everyday text for vocabulary development

Minimal text with engaging, "point-and-say" illustrations

Playful sounds of everyday characters and sing along text to enhance auditory skills

Nurturing and attachment themes in sing-song patterns

Children Born in 2017

Imagination Library Book List

Corduroy's Shapes

Oliver's Tree

Little Sleepy Head

Night-Night Forrest Friends

I Love My Daddy Because

ABC Look at Me

Littles & How They Grow

Little Poems for Tiny Ears

Sassy: Baby’s First Words

Sassy: Let’s Count

Good Night Gorilla

Llama Llama Red Pajama

Children Born in 2018

Imagination Library Book List

Winnie-the-Pooh’s Opposites

Sassy: Bedtime for Baby

Wheels on the Bus

Little Gardner

My First Songs

I Love My Mommy Because

Where's Ellie

I Love You, Spot

Baby! Talk!

Look Look!

Baby Sounds

Keep reading!

Finished your IL book this month?

Read our Book of the Month.

Peek-A-Boo Farm
By Joyce Wan

Enjoy these tips for this month's book of the month:

1. As you read, ask children engaging questions about the animals. For example:

Point to the hen.

Where is the pig?

Can you find the horse?

2. As you read, define difficult vocabulary words as they come up. Stop briefly to ask questions about some of the illustrations. Ask children to tell you about the illustrations.

What do you see in this picture?

Can you tell me the names of some of the animals in the picture?

3. Imitate the sounds each animal makes. Sing the sounds in different tones. Be silly!

Why is Baby Communication Important at Birth?

Nonverbal cues like eye contact, cooing, crying and listening are your baby's "language" to tell you needs, wants, and feelings. When parents respond to their baby’s gestures, they are building the very architecture of their brain, determining the foundation for future language, communication, and relationship development.

"Serve and Return" Interaction Shapes the Brain

All you need do is smile, talk, sing, read, play and respond to your baby. It’s called “serve and return” interaction. This back-and-forth process is fundamental to the wiring of the brain, especially in the earliest years. Serve and return interactions help parents create a safe and secure environment for infants, and they help infants build a realization that they’re being taken care of and understood.

Have you tried?

Help your baby to explore the book. Let your baby turn the pages, grab, or even chew on it.

Point out interesting pictures and take the time to ask questions as you read. Say, “Look at the butterfly.” Cover it and ask, “Where is the butterfly?” Uncover it and say, “Peek-a-boo butterfly!”

Stay on a page for as long as your baby is interested. Turn the page or stop reading when your baby looks away or seems tired or bored.

Read with joy and excitement. Use different voices for different characters.

Ask questions your child can answer by pointing. You can say, “Where’s the doggie?” or “Where’s the happy baby?” or “Who says meow?”

Imitate the sounds your child makes while looking at a picture. Then add a very short phrase, such as, “Moo, the cow says moo.” Copy your reactions to the book you are enjoying together.

Speaking in slow, short sentences and waiting for your child to take a turn talking helps him understand.

Let your toddler give a picture a name; then add a comment like: “Yes, a plane! The plane is flying. The plane is flying in the sky.”

Help your child pretend to be a character in a book. You can pretend to feed a baby or be puppies, barking and running after each other.

Other tips on communicating with your baby:

Respond to all of your baby’s gestures.

When speaking to your baby, use a slow pace, clear pronunciation and repetition.

Give babies time to respond when talking to them, either through facial expressions, sounds or body movements.

Hold, rock, and soothingly pat and bounce your baby when he or she cries or fusses, as they are often looking for engagement with you.

At a very young age, babies communicate through facial expressions, eye contact, and sounds, like cooing and crying. If you hear your baby make a sound, repeat it and wait for him or her to make another.

Gestures and body movements are also used by babies to communicate before they are able to speak. Tell your baby what he or she is looking at or doing and what you are doing.

Babies tend to pick up on how their loved ones are feeling. Taking good care of yourself and keeping your anxiety levels down can also be an important way to take care of your baby.

Sometimes babies aren't in the mood to talk or vocalize — even babies might turn away, close their eyes, or become fussy or irritable. If this happens, let your little one be or just try cuddling.

Reading Activites

A new Imagination Library book means a new opportunity to engage with your child using the coordinating reading activity.